7. INABILITY TO AGREE. If you need to have work started immediately, but cannot come to an agreement on the final terms of an agreement, you need to make sure that you are signing a contract that is not going to be enforceable as a permanent agreement. You can accomplish this by adding language like, "This interim agreement is in effect only until a more permanent agreement can be negotiated by both parties."

8. RESOLUTION OF ANTICIPATED DISPUTES. No matter how careful you are or how good your relationship with the other party, a dispute may arise. Many contracts include an arbitration clause, which means that a dispute must be settled in arbitration as opposed to in court. Arbitration is generally less costly and less formal than court, but if you sign the contract with the clause intact, you have probably waived your right to take the matter to court.

9. ANTICIPATED PROBLEMS. The party with whom you are contracting may have had prior experiences that have led it to add particular methods of resolution to the contract. Those ideas may be perfectly agreeable, but they could also be unfairly beneficial to the other party. Analyze whether these terms will benefit you.

10. ATTORNEYS' FEES. Determine whether you will be charged for the other party's attorney's fees if you breach the contract and lose the case that will probably arise to enforce it. If you are prone to breaching contracts, this is the kind of clause you should avoid.